This voice I could listen to all day, even if I didn’t understand a word of English. He doesn’t speak—he sings.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), “I Have a Dream,” Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963
***
Another take, with Max Roach (1924-2007, drums).
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
tonight just outside Chicago
They’re playing at a small club (Fitzgerald’s).
Los Lobos
With Robert Randolph (pedal steel guitar), “Don’t Worry Baby” (C. Rosas, L. Perez, T. Burnett), live, Austin, Tx., 2018
*****
“La Bamba” (trad. adapted by R. Valens), live, Watsonville, Calif., 1989
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
tonight in Chicago
He’s playing at Buddy Guy’s club, opening for Buddy himself.
Kingfish (AKA Christone Ingram, 1999-), “Hey Joe,” live, Tupelo, Miss., 2017
**********
langiappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
*****
reading table
a lovely night lit
with oil lamps . . .
croaking frogs—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue
*****
radio
Today WKCR (Columbia University) is celebrating the birthday of jazz drummer Max Roach (1924-2007), playing his music all day.
27 years later
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Roscoe Mitchell, 1940-, reeds, flute, percussion; Famadou Don Moye, 1946-, drums, percussion) and Guests (Hugh Ragin, trumpets, flugelhorn; Tomeika Reed, cello; Silvia Bolognesi, bass; Jaribu Shahid, bass; Dudu Kouate, percussion), live, Italy (Cormòns), 2018
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
what’s new
Balún, “Vaivén”, “La Nueva Ciudad”, “El Espanto,” “Punto De Encuentro,” live, Washington, D.C., 12/20/19
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
like nobody else
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Roscoe Mitchell, 1940-, reeds, flute, percussion; Joseph Jarman, 1937-2019, reeds, flute, percussion; Lester Bowie, 1941-1999, trumpet, flugelhorn, MCOTD Hall of Fame; Malachi Favors, 1927-2004, bass, percussion, vocals; Don Moye, 1946-, drums, percussion), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1991
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Culture’s beginnings:
from the heart of the country
rice-planting songs—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), from Narrow Road to the Interior (translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
only rock ‘n’ roll
Superchunk, “Break the Glass,” “Lost My Brain,” “What a Time to Be Alive,” “Throwing Things,” live (studio), Seattle, 2018
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
sounds of New York
More of one of my favorite drummers—again at the Village Vanguard.
Ed Blackwell (drums, 1929-1992) with Mal Waldron (1925-2002, piano), Charles Rouse (1924-1988, tenor saxophone), Woody Shaw (1944-1989, flugelhorn), Reggie Workman (1937-, bass), “Git Go” (M. Waldron, excerpt), live, New York (Village Vanguard), 1985
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
Do you imagine that writers speak ‘as themselves’? No such selves exist.
—Peter Schjeldahl, “The Art of Dying,” New Yorker, 12/23/19
sounds of New York
David Murray Quartet (DM, 1955-, tenor saxophone; John Hicks, 1941-2006, piano; Fred Hopkins, 1947-1999, bass; Ed Blackwell, 1929-1992, drums), live, New York (Village Vanguard), 1986
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
Playing, and talking, Monk.
Jason Moran (piano), Frank Lacy (trombone), Bob Stewart (tuba), Nasheet Waits (drums), et al., live, Washington, D.C., 2015
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
